Linda Roberts is co-ordinating her seventh Canberra and Region Heritage Festival in the year of the centenary of Anzac.

"There have been 34 in all different forms," she says - since 1981, when the festival began, it has run anything from a long weekend to a month. This year's, at 15 days, falls in between the extremes, and will contain 140 events, activities, exhibitions and performances, Roberts says. And, like the others, it is in April, because April 18 is the UNESCO-endorsed World Heritage Day.

Roberts says, "It's a way to celebrate our wonderful and unique heritage - our Aboriginal, built and natural heritage - and to highlight its importance and the need for conservation."

The theme of this year's Canberra and Region Heritage Festival, Conflict and Compassion, ties in with the centenary of Anzac and a number of the events are connected to World War I. There will be a seven-metre knitted pole cosy. Already knitted gloves and washcloths will be sent to homeless people and children in need and 100 hand-knit cotton bandages will be sent to a hospital in Niger, Africa.

In To our last man and our last shilling - Parliament at War visitors to Parliament House will be able to explore the impact of of World War I on Parliament, its work, its people who served and its work today during conflict. The tours run daily from noon to 1pm from April 11 to 26. Cost $25/$20. Bookings essential:contact The Parliament Shop on (02) 6277 5050 or email bookings@aph.gov.au.

Also at Parliament House, the Valuing Heritage tour is an opportunity to explore the creative design of the building for two hours with experts from the Parliament House heritage team, with visits to some of the private areas and a selection of sweet and savoury treats on Members' Terrace. It's on April 12, 17 and 24 from 10am to noon. Cost $80/$70. Bookings essential: contact The Parliament Shop on (02) 6277 5050 or email bookings@aph.gov.au.

On Saturday, April 11, is the PeaceKnits pop-up from 10am at Boab Book Cottage, 36 Crawford Street, Queanbeyan). It will feature a display of knitting, storytelling, art displays and food.

"One hundred years ago there was a lot of knitting," Roberts says, as people on the home front knitted hundreds of thousands of pairs of socks for soldiers serving in harsh conditions on the other side of the world.

The event also marks 100 years since the International Congress of Women met at The Hague to discuss ways of achieving world peace.

Also related to the war are exhibitions at Hall School Museum (April 27) and Gundaroo Soldiers' Memorial Hall (April 25 and 26) focusing on the stories of local soldiers. On April 19, Our Boys' Train at Canberra Railway Museum will provide an immersive experience for the adventurous wanting to step back in time for a while.

"There will be two actors dressed as World War I soldiers and a recruiting officer there and they will board a train from the era."

There will be decorations, signs, posters and music from the era as they - and anyone else who wants to go along (tickets $38-$68) - will climb aboard and travel to Queanbeyan and Bungendore and enjoy finger food and drinks en route before the more sombre return journey marking the sacrifices of those who went to war and those they left behind.

On Sunday, April 12 is a National Trust Open Day at Mugga-Mugga in Narrabundah Lane, Symonston. It was the home of Sylvia Curley, much of whose long career in nursing was spent at the Canberra Hospital, and features a display of nursing memorabilia as well as tours of the cottage, a Canberra lacemakers' stall,a car display and entertainment from the Sing Australia Choir, bush poets, and period dance troupe the Jumptown Jammers. There will also be a petting zoo, facepainting, badge-making and landscape painting for children and a talk by Canberra Times music critic Jennifer Gall about some of the instruments people would have played at Mugga-Mugga. Endangered Heritage will hold a workshop teaching people how to preserve family memorabilia.

Also on this weekend is the Jane Austen Festival Australia, with a theatrical prequel to Pride and Prejudice, Mr Bennet's Bride, on at Theatre 3 on Saturday and Sunday (canberrarep.org.au) and many events on at the Albert Hall including the Georgian Variety Evening on Friday, the Battle of Waterloo Ball on Saturday and the Sunday Play, Picnic, Promenade and Dance. More information and bookings: janeaustenfestival.com.au.

The Hume's Heyday Festival at Cooma Cottage in Yass on April 18 features displays of old-time skills such as blacksmithing, side-saddle riding and horse ploughing as well as coach rides, an egg-tossing contest and a tug-of-war as well as live music, poetry recitals and an animal petting pen.

Also on April 18 at the Irish Club is an exhibition, The Importance of Timekeeping in Navigation. It will bring together for the first time four replicas of Harrison (of Longitude fame) clocks built by Canberran Norm Banham. He is the only person in the world to have achieved this.

"They don't give out the plans," Roberts says. Banham had to work from photos, sketches and his own viewings of the clocks behind glass in a museum.

On April 23, in the ANU's China in the World building designed by Beijing architect Gerald Szeto, researcher William Sima will discuss the connections between Australia's first diplomatic postings in Asia and the establishment of sinology at the university.

These are just some of the highlights of the festival, demonstrating the range of what's on offer as Canberra and the region celebrate their heritage.

On April 26, Ngunnawal custodians Wally and Tyronne✓ Bell will reveal the history of the Tuggeranong Homestead site as it relates to Ngunnawal cultural history, interpreting cultural sites and explaining the way of life that Ngunnawal Anzacs left when they went to war.

These are just a few of the many events on in Canberra and the region, marking the many and varied aspects of our heritage and history. Visit the website environment.act.gov.au/heritage/heritage-and-the-community/heritage_festival for more information.